WITH competitive football days away and pre-season fixtures completed, Rangers’ open training session at Ibrox yesterday was more procession than practice.

Everyone in the squad played minutes over the weekend, during Saturday’s fixture with Tottenham and Sunday’s bounce game against Queen’s Park. As a result, Monday afternoon’s workout was recovery-focused and under the watch of meticulous fitness coach Arno Phillips, there was no chance of a raised tempo purely to appease the crowd.

The players were on the Ibrox surface for the best part of an hour, taking part in rondos with varying conditions and a larger possession drill. The only time supporters in the main stand saw any shots at goal came in the form of a competitive mini-game, where three players combined over a short distance before finishing into a training goal.

The winning team, comprising of James Tavernier, Alfredo Morelos, Mateusz Zukowski, Charlie McCann and Stephen Kelly had the validity of their eventual winning goal rigorously questioned by Antonio Colak and Connor Goldson, who claimed their opponents crossed the line in taking a final shot. Footballers are a competitive bunch, even during inconsequential training sessions.

Morelos took a while to find the net and received the biggest cheer of the day when he eventually did. The Colombian forward was lively and energetic throughout, having clearly missed the thrill of a crowd during his long injury lay-off. He’ll also be aware of an able competitor for his position in the form of newly-arrived Croatian forward Colak.

Had this session taken place earlier in the summer or during a trip abroad, Premier League outfits regularly put on open training sessions during tours, more could’ve been deciphered. For example, Man Utd supporters were able to watch an Erik Ten Hag training session before he took charge of a game for example, and paid close attention to his starting formation during an attack versus defence drill.

Instead, last week’s fixtures against West Ham and Tottenham provided Rangers supporters with an insight into Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s work on the training pitch this summer. A full pre-season has offered uninterrupted time for the manager to develop ideas and streamline his side's playing style, as confirmed by Charlie McCann and Scott Wright following Monday’s session.

“It was difficult with the manager coming in mid-way through the season because we had a game every two or three days,” Wright said.

“Trying to train as a team was impossible because some boys were doing recovery, some were playing. This pre-season we’ve had a run at it together and I think you can see from the games, we look strong as a unit and we’re trying to portray the ideas that he’s putting across to us in training.”

McCann also referenced the detail pre-season allowed in comparison to a mid-season appointment: “It’s crucial, we did well in the end last season but from the manager’s point of view he would’ve wanted more time to work on how we play. We’ve been able to go into a lot more detail than last season because we’ve had the time to do so.

“It allows us to add more strings to our bow, we’ve got different systems we know we can play now and we can switch between them and do it with ease. It has made us a lot more capable of being flexible.”

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Taking over from Steven Gerrard last November, van Bronckhorst had to introduce his style during a fixture schedule hardly conducive to change. As a result, video analysis and tactical walk-throughs took on greater influence as the squad adjusted to new requirements.

As stated by McCann, more time has resulted in more detail during the off-season and the results have been clear in recent matches.

Against David Moyes’ West Ham Rangers were composed and coordinated passing out from the back, scoring two goals by inviting the press, retaining composure and exploiting space.

“Once you surpass that press, the whole pitch is open,” van Bronckhorst said referencing Ryan Kent and Rabbi Matondo’s goals, both of which finished off team-wide passing moves.

“Instead of playing long, sometimes you need the bravery to pass to your teammates. The goals we scored were all about that – building from the back and making sure the opponent is stretched."

And a few days later, the Dutchman opted to press Antonio Conte’s Tottenham side aggressively, despite the transitional threat posed by Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son.

“We used this game to work on the way we press and attack against a good-quality opponent. For me, the result today wasn’t that important, we could have been very defensive in a 5-4-1 and waited for the moment to attack but I wanted us to have the same movements we always attack with against a big opponent.

“That’s how you will get stronger. We saw today you have less time on the ball, you have to think faster, that’s the quality of the opposition and a good environment to develop yourself as players.”

In and out of possession the team's structure appeared cohesive, benefitting from a summer of rehearsal. 

Additions in the market have added profiles last season’s squad simply did not have. Malik Tillman and Tom Lawrence should offer a goal threat from No.10, Rabbi Matondo a solution on the right, Colak required competition for Morelos, Ben Davies a regular partner for Goldson while Ridvan Yilmaz’s arrival represents an exciting piece of business for a very agreeable price. 

Results are the required proof that van Bronckhorst’s portrayed ideas have been a success. Undoubtedly, his squad have now had the necessary time to acclimatise.